Issue of tuition splits Abbott, would-be No. 2s

AUSTIN — Attorney General Greg Abbott, the GOP frontrunner for governor, is at odds with the four Republicans running for the state's second-highest office in a key area: In-state tuition for immigrants who are in Texas illegally.

The issue helped sink Gov. Rick Perry's presidential aspirations in 2012 when he said opponents of the tuition policy don't have a heart, and it has dominated much of the talk this week in the races for governor and lieutenant governor.

Abbott gingerly entered the fray Friday with a campaign statement saying he likes goal of in-state tuition but not its execution. He avoided any mention of repeal.

“Greg Abbott believes that the objective of the program is noble. But he believes the law as structured is flawed and it must be reformed,” Abbott spokesman Matt Hirsch said.

He provided no other details, saying: “The campaign will unveil specific policy initiatives in the coming weeks and months.”

Still, Abbott's position presents a sharp divide with the Republican candidates for lieutenant governor, who all week have tried to out-do each in opposing the program.

All four say their intent as Senate president would be to repeal the law, which offers in-state tuition at Texas universities to some in the country illegally if they meet criteria including a Texas high-school degree or its equivalent.

In an interview, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said that “we'll see a strong push” in the 2015 legislative session to eradicate the tuition policy.

“I expect to see more conservatives elected to the Texas Senate and that will help us in this endeavor,” Dewhurst said.

That ignited a firestorm among his competitors. Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and Dewhurst blasted Patrick as a liar. Patterson and Staples pointed to instances in which they offered public opposition, while Dewhurst said he always has opposed the policy.

All four clashed again over the issue at an Austin debate Friday, with Patrick standing by his ad and absorbing attacks from his opponents.

“It was a lie,” Staples said at the debate. “We have political Dan up here on stage today who issues a lie and then challenges everybody to get on the issues. That is very unauthentic.”

In the race to succeed Perry, one of Abbott's Republican opponents has seized on the attorney general's position.

Former state GOP chairman Tom Pauken, waging an uphill battle for the Republican nomination against Abbott, said that “in-state tuition should not go to people who are not legal residents of Texas.”

Pauken slammed Abbott for “ducking” issues since he has not yet filled out his policy positions and said his approach could spell “real trouble for our party next November.”

If Abbott is the nominee, Pauken said: “I think we're going to have another Mitt Romney-, John McCain-type candidate with no deep-seated convictions running against a very smart, liberal Democrat who's shown the ability to win races in a marginally Republican district.”

Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth, seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, is all for the tuition program signed into law by Perry.

The GOP governor never backed off of it despite the political consequences among the GOP base nationally when he ran for the 2012 presidential nomination.

“I support it wholeheartedly,” Davis said in an interview before announcing for governor.

Political scientist Jerry Polinard of the University of Texas-Pan American said the issue is important substantively — “It's a population you would anticipate would be living in Texas. It's to the state's advantage to have them educated” — and politically.

“The significance in terms of the gubernatorial race is it's another line being drawn between Democrats and Republicans on who's going to attract the Latino vote,” Polinard said. “That's why Abbott is trying to do a little balancing act here” between the GOP base in the primary and the Latino voters who can be important in the general election.